


Both of Our New Dawns and Sunsets.

by ProfessionalCatFan (idemandahug)



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Persona 5, Persona Series, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover, Friendship, Gen, Headcanon, Hurt/Comfort, Personal Growth, Shadows (Persona 4), this is pretty self-indulgent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2017-08-19
Packaged: 2018-11-16 15:52:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11256132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idemandahug/pseuds/ProfessionalCatFan
Summary: Nanami never expected to take up the role of protagonist herself, nor did she expect to awaken to a strange power: her Persona. If she wants to uncover the mysteries of the distorted school and save her friends from ruin, she needs to gain experience and form some bonds—she won't be able to defeat the final boss without party members.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Here I am starting yet another fic. After completing Persona 5 I couldn't resist making a crossover with one of my favourite series. First, I'll write some important details about this fic:
> 
> -This is an AU where Junko hasn't influenced Hope's Peak Academy, the Twilight Syndrome murders didn't occur, and Hinata didn't turn into Kamukura. That means the sdr2 characters have peacefully entered their third year of high school. This also means the first game characters are in their second year.  
> -The ndrv3 characters are Hope's Peak students in this fic: they are in their first year.  
> -Nanami and Fujisaki are cousins.  
> -The story kind of ignores dr3, aside from characters like Yukizome and Sakakura.  
> -This fic is pretty self-indulgent.  
> -Komaeda, Hinata, and Nanami are friends (because I love komahinanami.)  
> -No actual pairings have been planned for this fic, but if there's a popular demand then I'm open to suggestions.
> 
> That's it, for now! Thank you for reading!

When Himiko Yumeno pulls out a tattered stuff rabbit from her hat, everyone in the audience, including Nanami, thinks it’s part of the show. Laughter ripples through the theatre room, even as Yumeno’s face turns a similar colour to her hair.

“That’s not… Where’s the real one?” Yumeno buries her hand in her hat, and apparently finds nothing. Frustrated, she tosses the toy somewhere off stage, and the laughter continues.

Sat in the middle of the audience, Nanami sighs.

“What’s wrong?” Hinata asks. He’s right next to her, twisting slightly in his seat. 

“Mm, nothing, I guess. I just thought it’d be a real rabbit.”

“Don’t worry, Nanami-san!” Komaeda leans forward and smiles from his seat next to Hinata. “That was probably just to warm the audience up. As the Super High School Level Magician, Yumeno-san must have something amazing planned!”

“Yeah,” Nanami mumbles, because she doesn’t know what else to say.

The magic show continues without any issues, a full half hour of colours and doves card tricks and disappearing coins. Hope’s Peak Academy had informed its students that tickets for Yumeno’s show would be on sale, and so far it’s exactly as the school advertised. Nanami finds herself enjoying the show—yet, for some reason, she doesn’t feel as enraptured as the students surrounding her. She can hear their gasps of delight and excited whispering, while Nanami can only smile and clap politely. Somehow, this manages to sour the experience, like she’s listening to a joke everyone but her understands.

And as she broods over this thought, she’s reminded of her earlier conversation with Yukizome.

_“What are your plans for the future?”_

_“What are your aspirations?”_

_“What will you do after you leave Hope’s Peak Academy?”_

_“Haven’t you thought about it?”_

_“Nanami-san? Are you listening?”_

She remembers Yukizome smiling at her. She knows Yukizome only wanted to help, but every question made her heart beat a little faster. Eventually, Nanami had to excuse herself so that she could escape, leaving a concerned Yukizome to stare after her.

Nanami can feel herself sinking lower in her seat. Plans, aspirations, the future—she doesn’t want to think about that stuff. Not yet. She’d rather just get lost in video games and forget about all the difficult things.

Then, something strange happens. Everything slows before stopping completely. The previously cheering audience is now completely silent. Next to her, Hinata and Komaeda are frozen in place, still smiling with their eyes fixed on the magic show.

“Hinata-kun? Komaeda-kun?” Nanami tries to shake Hinata, but he doesn’t move: she might as well have pushed a statue.

A laugh cuts through the silence like a knife. Nanami’s head snaps up towards the stage. Someone is standing behind the frozen Yumeno, a smile on their face. She looks like—no, she’s an exact replica of Nanami. The only difference is her eyes, which burn bright gold.

For some reason, Nanami isn’t afraid. She simply lets herself meet the girl’s gaze

Everything flickers, and the girl vanishes. Movement and sound returns and hits Nanami like a wave. She shakes her head, suddenly disorientated.

“Hey, Nanami?” She feels a hand on her shoulder looks up to see Hinata. His seems concerned, as does Komaeda who stands beside him.

“Are you okay, Nanami-san?”

“…Huh?”

“You were just staring at nothing.” Hinata sighs, apparently relieved Nanami is fine, but annoyed he worried for nothing. “Come on, it’s time to go. The show’s over.”

It takes a moment for this information to sink in. Nanami blinks and stares at Hinata, then Komaeda, then the empty stage. People are putting coats on and leaving their seats. The world was frozen for not even five minutes; it’s scary to think so much time passed without her knowing.

“Nanami-san?” Komaeda smiles at her. “You know, if you’re not feeling well, Hinata-kun can carry you.”

“Carry—? What the hell are you saying?!”

“Shouldn’t a reserve course student be happy to help such a talented individual?”

Before their squabbling can continue, Nanami finally stands, grabbing her backpack as she does so. Almost everyone has left by this point, aside from some lingering groups, and once again Nanami wonders just how long she was really in that frozen world.

The three of them walk together, moving around the chairs and past the stage. Nanami finds herself saying, “I wonder who that girl was.”

“What girl?” is Hinata’s response.

“There was a girl on the stage. She…” Nanami hesitates. It’s strange, but she’s having trouble recalling what happened. The experience was so unreal. She feels like she’s trying to remember a distant dream, instead of something that occurred minutes ago. The more she tries to grasp the memory, the more it drifts away. “She looked like me,” she finishes, after a moment of tight faced struggle.

“Hm? Are you sure you didn’t fall asleep, Nanami-san? Komaeda asks, not unkindly, but with a flippant tone that tells Nanami he isn’t taking it seriously. Nanami huffs and is about to insist that no she didn’t fall asleep—probably—when her foot hits something soft and she stands back in alarm.

Lying dejectedly on the floor is the toy rabbit Yumeno threw away. Now that it’s up close, Nanami can see just how poorly made it really is. The fur is patchy and faded, and these is a divide in the middle that suggests two halves, one pink and one white, were crudely sewn together. Its lower half is covered by a diaper, and a greying ribbon is attached to its ear.

Nanami picks up the toy. It flops uselessly in her arms.

“What a cheap prop,” Komaeda says with something like disgust. “How disappointing. I expected better from the Super High School Level Magician.”

“Do you think she wants it back?”

“Considering she threw it offstage and hasn’t bothered to pick it up, probably not,” says Hinata. “She must have wanted an excuse to get rid of it.”

“How sad…” Looking at the miserable, lonely rabbit, Nanami feels a spark of protectiveness. She slips the toy into her backpack.

“You’re keeping it, Nanami-san?” Komaeda sounds shocked, but quickly brushes it off with a smile. “Ah, you must have a unique view of what’s cute. You really are amazing!”

“Look, can we forget about the rabbit and go?” Hinata’s arms are crossed. He seems close to scowling. Nanami nods, and the three of them leave together.

* * *

 

It is by the fountain in the centre of Hope’s Peak Academy that they part ways. Hinata waves under the darkening sky as he heads to the reserve course student dorms, and Komaeda mentions he has something to do before he returns to his room.

“Thank you for the tickets, Komaeda-kun,” Nanami says politely.

“It was no problem! I actually won them from that capsule machine in the school store.”

“Ah, so that’s how you got them. I heard they sold out quickly, so I was wondering about that.” Nanami hums to herself. “That machine really has everything, huh. With your luck, maybe one day you’ll get a capsule with a video game inside. It might even be a video game that’s super old, or one that hasn’t been released yet…” Her eyes light up, and she gives Komaeda a strange look. “Hey, do you want to go to the school store right now?!”

“I think the store’s closed for the night, Nanami-san,” Komaeda says with a laugh. Then he glances towards the reserve course building, and his smile falls. “You know, I was surprised Hinata-kun agreed to come.”

“Really? Why?”

“Probably because…” Komaeda is silent for a moment, trying to voice his thoughts. “Doesn’t he seem distant lately? He doesn’t talk as much, and when we invite him places he’s lost in thought the entire time, if he doesn’t outright decline.”

“Hm.” Nanami tries to sound like she’s considering his words, but really she is already well aware of this. She’s wondered quite often if Hinata’s okay, but decided time and time again not to ask. She figured if there’s something wrong, Hinata would tell her.

It’s easier to think that.

“Well, he’s just a reserve course student, so it’s not like I care,” Komaeda says, despite caring deeply. “See you tomorrow, Nanami-san.”

“Yeah.” Nanami waves him goodbye. With a sigh, she glances towards the reserve course building one last time before heading back to her dorm.

She wonders if she’s imagining the feeling that something’s watching her.

* * *

 

Nanami is walking through fog. The path is thin and she can’t see what’s ahead of her, but she continues forward regardless.

_“Everything’s fine if you just look away, right?”_ someone says. _“Keep your head down and play your video games. That way, you don’t have to worry about anything.”_

Her footsteps are heavy. It feels like she’s being weighed down. When she tries to look up, a pair of hands grab her face and force her to stare at the ground. Fingernails dig into her cheeks.

_“No, no!”_ the voice says with a giggle. _“Don’t look up, okay? Believe me, it’s much better this way.”_

And so Nanami keeps walking with her eyes fixed on the ground.

She doesn’t wonder how long the path is, nor how long she has been walking. The only sensations are her feet tapping the ground, and the feeling of whoever the voice belongs to following her. Then, a different, yet familiar voice speaks up, ringing inside Nanami’s head.

_“Is this really okay? You’re letting someone else decide your life. You need to look up. Otherwise…”_

Then Nanami’s foot meets empty air, and with her balance lost she falls into nothing with a yelp. A hand grabs her wrist; her body jerks painfully. The voice from earlier starts to cackle.

_“My, my! What a shame. It looks like your path has completely crumbled.”_

The hand’s bright red nails stab into Nanami’s wrist, drawing blood. She chokes back a gasp.

_“Aww, poor thing! With your future lost, the only thing left for you is ruin.”_ When it speaks again the voice sounds like it’s breathing down her ear. Nanami shivers. _“I’m looking forward to it, you know—seeing your face overflowing with despair.”_

Then the hand lets go, and Nanami falls.

* * *

 

Nanami wakes up to the feeling of her pounding heart. She breathes in, lets herself realise that yes, she really is safe in her bed, and exhales. The sun shines through her bedroom window, vastly different from her fog shrouded dream.

Because it was a dream. There’s no doubt about that.

She sits up with a sigh, and notices something. There’s a strange mark at the top of her wrist. Frowning, she pulls down her pajama sleeve. Her eyes widen.

Five crescent shaped scratches litter her wrist. As if someone dug their fingernails into her skin…

Nanami spends a long time staring at the ceiling before she finally decides to get up.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it took me so long to add a new chapter to this fic. I hope all of you enjoy it regardless.

Students trickle out the Hope’s Peak building, complaining about homework and discussing plans for the night. There are more clouds in the sky than the previous evening, adding a slight chill to the air that makes Nanami shiver. But as she glances at her sleeve-covered wrist, she wonders if the lower temperature is the only reason for the shudder running down her spine.

Nanami doesn’t consider herself easily rattled, but she can’t deny that the nightmare and the scratches on her wrist fill her with a strange anxiety. Throwing herself into video games did nothing to help, as her wavering concentration made even her favourite games a chore. Instead, she walked through the day with a distracted mind akin to a zombie. Classmates such as Sonia and Kozumi gave her worried looks throughout the day.

And then, Nanami remembers with a frown, Yukizome called her into the hallway during lunch. She asked, quiet but friendly, “How are you? You seemed a little upset yesterday.”

Looking away, Nanami squashed her worries down and said she was fine.

“I don’t want to rush you,” Yukizome said, sounding kind. “But this really is important. Your last year will go by in a blink of an eye, so you should figure out what you want to do while you can. This isn’t something you can just ignore. You understand, right?”

Nanami simply nodded. Yukizome seemed disappointed by such a noncommittal answer, but still showed Nanami an encouraging smile.

“I’m your teacher, Nanami-san. Don’t be afraid to talk to me if you have any questions, okay?”

Her words were filled with good intent, but they couldn’t lift Nanami’s mood. Even now, doubts and stress cloud her mind, and as she walks towards the fountain her feet feel heavy.

An uncertain future that she wants to look away from, and a wish for everything to stay the same for just a little longer. And the memory of a malicious cackle whenever she closes her eyes; a remnant of that nightmare. Nanami pulls down her sleeve and sees the ugly crescent scratches are still there. She quickly covers them again.

But as she nears the fountain, something brings a smile to her face—sat on the edge of the fountain is Hinata, scribbling something in his notebook as loud students pass him by, a scowl of concentration on his face. For a moment, Nanami lets herself forget about everything and goes towards her friend.

“Hinata-kun,” she calls, and Hinata looks up and closes his notebook.

“Hey, Nanami. Komaeda’s not with you today?”

“Nah. He went somewhere with Souda-kun and Kuzuryuu-kun.” Though people seemed wary of Komaeda during their first 2 years at Hope’s Peak, he’s gained popularity ever since someone spread the rumour that petting his hair brings good luck. Whether or not this rumour is true remains to be seen. Komaeda doesn’t seem to mind the extra attention, although he was definitely confused at first.

Hinata nods thoughtfully. Nanami and Komaeda tell him about their classmates more than enough for Hinata to have some idea who they are.

“What are you doing?” Nanami asks. “Homework?”

“Oh. Um, something like that,” Hinata says, hiding his notebook in his bag. Nanami notices but says nothing. “How was class?”

“It was fine. But…” Nanami hesitates. She wonders if she should tell Hinata about her conversation with Yukizome, her worries, and the strange dream. Really, she doesn’t have any particular reason to tell him. It’s something she’d rather pretend didn’t happen, so that she can just play games and talk to her classmates like usual. But at the same time, discussing it with a friend might be a good idea. It’s possible Hinata could help her figure out what to do. Some games are easier in co-op mode, after all.

“Hinata-kun? Could I talk to you about something?” Nanami asks tentatively. He nods, and she continues. “Well… Do you know what you want to do in the future?”

“Huh? Um, get a job, I guess.”

“I don’t know what I want to do.” Nanami feels like she’s confessing to something. It’s a strange feeling, but also somehow relieving. “I don’t really have any dreams or aspirations, and my grades aren’t very good so I don’t think I can get into a good university. I’m good at video games, but that won’t really get me anywhere. So, it’s more like I don’t know what I _can_ do. My teacher keeps asking me what I want to do but whenever I think about it I feel really scared, because I just don’t know.” Her words had increased in speed as she talked. Nanami takes a deep breath. She smiles uncertainly at Hinata, who’s looking at her with a surprised expression.

“Sometimes, I wish I was an NPC,” Nanami says. “They don’t have to think about stuff like this. They can leave the difficult, plot related things to the protagonist.”

“I… I didn’t realise you were worrying about that kind of stuff,” Hinata says, frowning. He looks away. “But I don’t think that really matters.”

Nanami blinks. “…Huh?”

“You’re a main course student. You’re guaranteed success the moment you graduate from this school. You don’t need to worry about the future,” Hinata explains, as if this is an obvious thing. For Nanami, however, his words are strange, almost confusing.

“But… But I…”

“Sorry, I need to go.” Hinata stands abruptly. He grabs his bag and lifts it up onto his shoulder. “I have a part time job,” he says in response to Nanami’s questioning gaze. “I’ll, um, see you around.”

Nanami watches him leave. She lowers her head, staring at her feet. Though his words weren’t intentionally unkind, anxiety stabs her chest. Perhaps it’s the thought that her worries are truly unfounded, or that her fears are being ignored—that she is yelling inside a locked room with no one to hear her. It’s a lonely feeling, one that she tries to ignore.

She takes a step forward, towards the dorms, and a hand grabs her wrist from behind: fingers are wrapped around the crescent shaped scratches. Nanami doesn’t have time to react or even comprehend what is happening before the hand yanks her back. Her legs hit the edge of the fountain, and she flails and loses her balance. As she gasps, desperately reaching out to Hinata’s departing figure, Nanami is pulled into the water.

She’s falling and tumbling, twisting in the cold water until she can’t tell which is up and which is down, and still the hand keeps dragging her down and down and down. She can’t breathe, she can’t see, and the hand’s grip is like iron on her wrist even as she tries to pry the fingers away. She can hear the water rushing past her ears.

Her chest burning without air, Nanami makes one last effort to remove the hand. She pulls and struggles and even bites, and then finally, finally, the hand loosens before falling away completely and Nanami is free. But even then, the hand has pulled her in so deep, and Nanami has never been a strong swimmer, so as she thrashes in the water and gives a frantic kick she wonders if she’ll die here, that this place will be her tomb, and no one will even know—

Then she breaks through the surface, and Nanami breathes in uneven, terrified gasps as she clings to the edge of the fountain. The hand has vanished, but Nanami keeps holding on tight, scared something lurking under the water will grab her again and take her away. Her fingers start to hurt, but she refuses to let go.

Nanami realises, suddenly, that her knees are touching the rough bottom of the fountain. Even at this height the water only reaches her waist. How could the hand have dragged her down for so long? She thought she was being yanked into a bottomless abyss. It doesn’t make sense, and Nanami isn’t sure if she even wants to understand.

It is at that point Nanami notices a change: before, groups of students loitered in the main square and around the fountain, an ordinary sight at Hope’s Peak Academy. But now the square is empty, the chatter that filled the air replaced by a deafening silence. Where did everyone go? Even if everyone returned to the dorms, this stillness is too unnatural.

Finally, she works up the courage to climb out of the fountain, her arms trembling as she does so, and another piece of strangeness hits her. Her clothes, her hair—they’re completely dry. She looks down and finds even as she pulls her feet from the water, they aren’t wet at all. Feeling almost dizzy, Nanami stumbles away from the fountain, trying to push aside her building unease.

She hurries towards the main school building. At this point she just wants to see a familiar face, a comforting smile, anything that could tell her she’s safe. But the silence only follows her. There are no students to be found inside the buildings, no teachers either. The lights are off, darkness lurking behind every corner. Her footsteps echo too loudly.

That’s why hearing another sound inside the empty school is an immediate relief for Nanami. Though faint, she’s certain she heard a voice just up ahead. Nanami runs forward, turns the corner, and sees—

Herself.

She doesn’t know how else to describe it. The face, body, clothes: Nanami feels like she’s staring at a mirror. The only difference is her gold coloured eyes, which glint with an almost otherworldly light as she regards Nanami.

Nanami has seen those eyes before. At the magic show, during that strange moment where time stood still. She remembers now, like a fog clearing from her head. Before she can figure out what this means, the girl with her face smiles.

“You’re here,” she says. Her voice sounds like Nanami’s, but different: the voice is almost distorted, as if Nanami is listening to an old recording. “That’s surprising. I expected you to take much longer.”

“…Who are you?” Nanami asks, because in this bizarre situation that’s the only question she can bring herself to ask.

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m you.” The other Nanami spreads her arms wide, gesturing to the empty school. “Look at all of this. Strange, isn’t it? I doubt even _you_ can ignore this much.”

Nanami flinches. The phrasing is clearly intentional. Yukizome’s words ring in her mind as if her teacher’s standing right in front of her.

_“This isn’t something you can just ignore.”_

“But it’s easier that way,” the girl continues, perhaps responding to Nanami’s thoughts. “If it’s difficult, I’d rather just pretend it doesn’t exist. As long as I look away, I don’t have to feel scared, and I don’t have to feel disappointed if something doesn’t go my way. I mean, why put time and energy into something that’s probably going to fail? And if something bad happens, it’s not my fault. It’s not like there’s anything I could have done, anyway. The only thing I’m good for is playing video games.”

“That’s not…” Nanami can’t argue. The doppelganger is laying bare the worries of her heart, and though there’s no one else to hear this Nanami feels ashamed. She was happy to let these thoughts stagnate inside her mind, but now they’re out in the open, and it’s as if she can’t push them away anymore. It’s a part of herself she hated, and yet couldn’t stop listening to.

“Tell me something,” says the other Nanami. “Will you continue to look away, no matter the cost? Would you sacrifice your talent? Your future? Your _life_?” The smile slips, and her face turns cold. “Will you look away even as your friends die?!”

“Of course not!” The words have escaped Nanami’s mouth before she even realises. Frustration had sparked under the barrage of the other Nanami’s questions, followed by anger at the perceived threat to her friends. This seems to please her double.

“Then prove it,” she says. “You will be presented with an ordeal very soon, and how you choose to confront it is your own choice. You may ignore it, as comes naturally to you, or you may face it head on. If you choose to cling to the determination and hope in your heart, then you can avoid disaster.”

Nanami doesn’t understand, can’t understand, but something inside her wavers. Her vision blurs. She staggers back, pain stabbing through her head.

“Rest now. You will find me again very soon. After all, I am you, and you are me.”

The last thing Nanami sees before losing consciousness is the smile on her double’s face, and those cold, golden eyes.

 


End file.
